First .22: Browning Buckmark :-)

Finally got a .22. I ordered a Buckmark Standard (http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?value=006B&cat_id=051&type_id=325), and it's just swell. :D

I took it out of the box, wiped some of the oil off the breechface, and started shooting. 50 rounds of Blazer, then about 500 rounds mixed of Remington Golden Pack and Winchester Xpert22 (Walmart specials). The first magfull of Blazer had a stove pipe and some ejection failures. After that I had two feed failures in the 500 rounds, and a couple ammo-related misfires. I didn't bother to investigate the cause of the feed failures. I figure 2 out of 500 isn't too bad for a break in period.

The Remington ammo seemed especially inconsistent. A noticeable number of rounds that were under powered (too quiet, low recoil). But the action cycled OK with these, enough to eject the empty and feed the next round, anyway.

Accuracy: When I shoot to the gun's potential, I'll let you know. Having worked almost exclusively with centerfire carry guns, I shoot kind of fast, for "torso groups", so my bullseye shooting is sadly lacking. I shoot better off hand than I do from the bench. The BM makes the known deficiencies in my technique more obvious: not isolating the trigger finger (especially one-handed), and jerking on over-concentrated shots. Did you know rimfires are great training aids? :eek: :D

My vision is not what it used to be, either, apparently. :scrutiny: . I frequently saw two rear sights when focusing on the front. This may be related to the long sight radius of the BM (8 inches or so) as compared to my short-barreled "fighting guns", plus the unusually long session of concentrating on a steady sight picture, instead of the "flash sight picture/bang!" that I usually do. At any rate, it's going to be a problem, I think.

There were no light strikes, as I'd read about, and the sight assembly didn't come loose, either. The action just got smoother. :)

Howdy boing. Glad you like your Buckmark. A .22 pistol Boresnake is a real handy cleaning tool for those. Enjoy!

Sylvilagus Aquaticus

August 11, 2004, 01:56 AM

Another new member to the Cult of Buck Mark.

Huzzah!

Regards,
Rabbit.

sm

August 11, 2004, 08:16 AM

Congrats ! Great Guns!

As a rule the Rem bulk pk and especially the Win Xpert are NOT known for reliability.
Now that Buckmark will really like Win X22lr , Win PowerPoint , CCI and even The Fed Bulk pk # 510 .

Buy more mags, BA/UU/R and Have fun !! :)

whm1974

August 11, 2004, 08:57 AM

An other pistol on my list to get...

-Bill

Thrash1982

August 11, 2004, 10:53 AM

Great guns. The Purdue gun club has a few and I find that I shoot them more accurately than our Smith & Wesson Model 41s. One thing you might do to ensure you never have any problems with the gun is take out those two screws on the top rail and put some blue locktite on them. This is a constant problem with our club guns. When the rear screw gets loose the gun stops working. Other than that they are some of the most accurate .22s I've ever shot.

Rocko

August 11, 2004, 03:51 PM

I recently got my buckmark threaded for a can - never really used Remington ammo before, but I was trying out all different brands to see what was the quietest - also dug out my chrony for the process. Long story short, the Remington Subsonic absolutely sucked. I had a few boxes that I got from different sources, and all of it was highly inconsistent - talking velocities from 650-950fps. And the low numbers weren't just errors on the chrony, also would short stroke and jam on the low ones, noticably less recoil as well. I'd have to say that it was, by far, the most inconsistent .22 ammo I've shot to date. Perhaps it was just a bad lot, although as menition, it was from two different sources.

Rocko

pakmcc

August 11, 2004, 04:08 PM

I picked up a buckmark and I tried to find a brand of .22 that it liked and couldn't do it. I was told to try Yellow jackets and they were better but I would still get stove pipes, etc. I tried for a couple of weeks and then sold it on e-bay. I also had just gotten a witness .45 with the .22 conversion kit and it's also as accurate as the buckmark and a lot more dependable. The buckmark was very accurate. but two to three hangfires, stovepipes. etc per mag. was just not making it,(this was after I cleaned the pistol real well.(I know what real well is, 4yrs in USMC). My two bits. Pat McC

boing

August 11, 2004, 04:57 PM

I have some blue Loctite lying around here somewhere, but I'm going to leave the screws alone. I'll add Loctite when they shoot loose, or I put an optic rail on, or I have to strip the gun for cleaning, whichever comes first.

I've seen a couple posts about the Remington bulk being crap. Now I can say I didn't just read about it on the internet. It's crap! :D I looked for the Federal, but it was sold out. It's next on the list, though.

Sylvilagus Aquaticus

August 11, 2004, 11:20 PM

I've been burning through a bunch of Federal 550 round bulk packs lately. It seems to be working just fine.

Don't be afraid to go ahead and disassemble it to become acquainted with it. I did as soon as I got it home the first day from the shop and it gave me more insight as to what works and why.

Regards,
Rabbit.

Hal

August 12, 2004, 07:09 AM

IMHO and IMH experience, keeping a spare, or 2 or 3 allen wrench(es) handy works better than Loctite.

Loctite just flat out didn't work on my wife's BM Micro.

Rather than go thru the frustration, I just keep a wrench handy and cinch down the screws every 50 - 100 rounds.

shep854

August 12, 2004, 11:54 AM

Welcome to the Buckmark cult! No Kool-Ade here, but the Winn-Dixie sugar-free sweet tea is great...:D

There should have been an Allen wrench with the pistol. If not, you need a 3/32 for the rail screws and a 7/64 for the rare times you remove the barrel.

Mine just loves Rem T-bolt ammo. It's also run old Russian ammo without a problem. The only function problems I've had were after I disassembled it, and didn't tighten the screws enough.

For much more BM information, go to http://www.rimfirecentral.com and scroll down to the Browning forum. You WILL have to get past all the Ruger heretics, though. :rolleyes:

cstuard

August 12, 2004, 02:49 PM

Your gun is exactly the model of my first Buckmark.I shot 1000s of round thru it fot about 3 yrs and then got into a Beretta 22 conversion.Spent a bunch of time w/ it and just couldn't get it accurate at 60 feet(max at my range). Got a Buckmark Silouette w/ 10 in barrel a year ago and been shooting it a bunch w/ a dot sight. Finally decided the weight of the 10 in is too much so I got a Weigand mount so I could put the dot sight on the standard.Last weekend shot the 2 guns back to back about 250 rnds each and guess what! Maybe it's me or maybe it's the 60 ft max, but the standard shoots just as well as the Silouette even though the trigger is definately heavier.Yesterday I was shooting the standard again. Found that if I rest the barrel on a bulk box of ammo, I can shoot 10rnd groups that a quarter will cover. I think the Buckmark standard is the best $260 pistol you can buy! I will make 2 suggestions tho-1-if you want better grips,they are rediculously expensive,but the Browning wood target grips on the Silouette are a big improvemant.2-Buy Federal bulk pack at Walmart and shoot til you can't stand it!! Fun!!

bigmike45

August 12, 2004, 03:18 PM

Ahhhh,

Buck Mark Lovers...........A fine group of gunners indeed.

About 6 years ago I bought a Buck Mark Target and have never been the same. I have scoped it, un-scoped it, used it for rifle silhouette competition against some of my buddies and won once, plinked it to death, ended the terror of many a rattle snake and water moccasin.....well lets just say i love to shoot the darn thing.

Prior to it I had 2 Rugers, 1 semi-auto and 1 revolver....sold em both. A Rossi revolver... sold it too and sold my .22 rifle. The little Browning does it all. I am currently looking for the longest barrel I can get for it.

boing

August 12, 2004, 05:24 PM

Polished off the rest of the Remington and Winchester stuff today, about 500 rds worth. No malfunctions of either the gun or the ammo. Best I can do is about 2" at ten yards, offhand. The sight base is still rock solid.

I'm keeping the grips as is, for now. I can feel a couple places where they don't quite fit me, but I want to be able to work on my weak hand shooting, so fancy target grips are out.